Eye-opener: Is now the time for the Celtics to panic?

Good morning. As we have that second cup, trying to figure out how to get control of the day, many of us can be thankful we are not Boston sports fans. The Red Sox are staring up at Tampa Bay and New York; the Bruins collapse was historical and now it is getting a little dicey for the Celtics.

Last night it was the Magic's turn to run away with a game and that is not good news for a Celtics team that once had a 3-0 series lead.

The Celtics had the Magic pinned to the mat and let them get up. Boston is now the bruised and battered guys and Dwight Howard, who was being blamed for everything but the weather, is all of a sudden being lauded for flexing his considerable muscles. Superman to Clark Kent back to the Man of Steel.

If you can believe this, Jameer Nelson is now saying he and his Magic teammates just have to "stay humble."

Psych.

Here is the take by Ron Borges of the Boston Herald and here is the take by Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.

The Celtics still lead 3-2 with Game 6 at home and Doc Rivers is keeping his sense of humor. But is it time for Boston and its fans to enter panic time?

While we wait for the blood pressure cuff to be taken off, here is some good work by some good people that we might have missed while sleeping or wondering whether the Golden Bear just slapped a Tiger.

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About Reid and Mike

Reid Cherner has been with USA TODAY since 1982 and written Game On! since March 2008.

He has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.

Michael Hiestand has covered sports media and marketing for USA TODAY, tackling the sports biz ranging from what's behind mega-events such as the Olympics and Super Bowl to the sometimes-hidden numbers behind the sports world's bottom line.